The Eliminated
by hillsarah777
Summary: America thought she was in love when she entered the selection, that was until she fell head over heels for Maxon. Now she's back in the real world unable to escape her pain. That was until Kate Tainui enters her life. America all but forgets her heart ache in the blur of music and parties that ensues but she soon learns that no body can run forever, not even superstar Kate.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, I've just finished reading the Elite and I was dying for more so have been reading a lot of people's great fan fictions; which got me thinking maybe I could have a go at this to! **

**In my story America wasn't saved from elimination at the end of the book. I apologise for my spelling and grammar, they are not one of my strong suits haha**

**Chapter one **

"America?"

I turned. Maxon was standing at the other end of the corridor, his expression pained.

"Hey" I said lamely unable to muster anything more. I hadn't thought I would get to see him again, and now that I was I wasn't sure I wanted to.

He walked over slowly clearly gaging which he himself could manage to say "you look absolutely breathtaking"

I smiled half-heartedly touching the fabric of my last dress "thank you"

"I wish…" he said as he reached me taking my hands in his "I wish it didn't have to end like this" he bowed his head obviously not wanting to show just how much pain he was in

I looked at him thoughtfully for a second then made conscious decision, one of us needed to be strong; our goodbye would be just too painful otherwise. I lifted his head with one hand under his chin "There nothing either of us can do about it, I was never princess material"

He turned his head away; his jaw clenched obviously fighting back his emotions. It broke my heart, I knew I had to stand by my resolve but I could feel it breaking

"America… I…" he started but I cut him off I had to finish this quickly for both our sakes

"Goodbye prince Maxon, for what it's worth I really enjoyed my time here" and then I left, just like that, I was gone from the castle, gone from the selection and worst of all gone from Maxon's life. It was only once I was safely inside the car that was to take me to the airport that I finally let myself cry. My tears came in torrents and I felt like river that fed them would never cease. I didn't see any of Angeles as the car made its way through the town; I was too lost in my sadness to care.

My mother was waiting for me in Carolina and for once she didn't nag she just held me and told me that I would be alright, I didn't believe he.

* * *

3 months past in a blur, days only marked by the brightness of the light that forced its way into my room through the curtains. I was lost and for a long time I wanted to stay that way. But my tears eventually dried up and slowly I began to remember who I was. I remembered what had pushed me on through the selection to begin with, I grabbed hold of that idea in head and used it as a life line to drag myself out of the dark, it also became my shield I placed it between my mind and any thought of Maxon. My family needed me to help provide for them, I wouldn't let them down, not like Kota, I couldn't be like that.

I could tell my family didn't know what to say or do around me when I finally emerged from my room. May often began to tell mother about some rumour she had heard about the royal family only to be silenced by my father, papers quickly removed from view when I entered and if I was in the room the TV remained silent. My family was trying so hard to protect me but I could tell they were struggling after so long of their lives removing around news from the selection, May in particular, and I knew I couldn't let it go on for ever.

"Please don't turn it off for my sake" I said when my mother made for the controls upon my entering the living room one evening, "I need to join the real world some time, and now is as good as any"

My mother looked at me like I was a sick cat trying to walk "Are you sure America, if you're not ready…?"

"I am mum, I need to start living again" she smiled in reply and sat the control back down "so May, what's been happening at the castle" I asked trying to sound like I meant it

May looked to our mother for permission, which she gave with a slight nod of her head "Well, Maxon hasn't sent anyone else home since you left, but you can tell that the girls aren't impressed by it" I felt something like relief rush through my body, Maxon wasn't married yet. "Everyone thought he would send Natalie home but he kept her there." She visually searched in her head for other information she felt 'safe' to tell me "Queen Amberly created some scandal the other day during the report"

"Really? How" I asked, actually interested, which surprised me

"Gavril asked her who she wanted Maxon to choose out of Celeste and Kriss, but she told him that she didn't want either, celeste looked like she could commit murder." May continued obviously trying but failing to restrain her enthusiasm

"I could imagine" and I really could, Celeste had spent a lot of time sucking up to the queen, her rejection would had have been like a slap in the face

"But it gets better; she said that the only person she thought should be 'the one' had gone. Then Gavril asked her who she meant and she come right out and said 'Why Lady America Singer of course', the King turned bright red he was so mad, but Maxon looked like he wanted to run up and hug her"

I smiled Touched, I had so much respect for Queen Amberly and to know she was still liked me let alone the fact she was still in corner filled me with warmth. But at the same time, what had she risked to do so, my thoughts strayed to Maxon's wounds. He had said king Clarkson punished his wife in other ways… what should she have earned for her defiance?

My mind was drawn back to reality by the distinct tune that marked the beginning of the report and I braced myself for what was to come.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone, sorry for taking so long to get this up. I'm finding it really hard to get through this bit as I'm dying to get to the stuff later on but I also work full time as a geologist in a coal mine so I don't get a heck of a lot of spare time. Please bear with me. Thanks so much for you reviews, I'm sorry to say America wont be going back to the castle any time soon, she has a bit of a journey to go through first and a lot of new friends to make. That's not to say that Maxon wont come to her =).**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

I needn't have worried about not being able to perform music as a three.

After a lot of nagging, my father had been convinced to give me all the offers of work I had received since leaving the palace. I might have left it a little bit longer if I had known just how many there was; Just about every two in the district had requested my performance at some party or the other and I didn't know whether to be excited about my new found stardom or scared.

"Just remember, you don't have to take them all" my mother said as we sorted through the stack of jobs "after all you're a three now"

May dropped the small selection she had been reading and picked up an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table. "Yeah, that and just one of these jobs will earn you more money than u used to earn in a year!" she said before taking a bite

"Well, I have to go the Haywood's, they had always been good to us, that's next week. I don't know how I can really turn down this one for the Campbell's" I sighed putting their two cards aside

"Just because they are offering absorbent amounts of money doesn't mean you need to accept it" mum added, I gave her a half smile, she was right but it was hard to turn down a job that would ensure us a comfortable winter.

May picked up a card that had been in her pile and held it out towards me "How 'bout this one" she said through a mouth full of apple

"May Singer!" our mother scolded "don't talk with your mouthful"

"Sorry" she replied swallowing the last the apple before she continued "it looks really interesting"

I took the card off out of her hand. It was unlike the other cards, which were printed on lavish cards in sprawling writing. This card was written on the back of an old faded and creased postcard which depicted an old world theatre. The writing on the back was ruff and in black marker pen:

To Miss "Lady" America Singer

The house of the splendid dark would like to Offer you a position in our orchestra of stars.

We will speak soon.

Kate XOXO

I couldn't see a return number anywhere so I turned it over to look at the picture; I had seen pictures of theatres like this before, they were a remanent of times long before the fall of America, all gold painted moulding and red velvet. The only other writing was printed in one of the corners and read; House of the splendid dark, Angeles. "Weird, it doesn't have a number on it or anything"

"I know, it's so mysterious, it's so cool!" May replied literally bubbling with excitement. She was right though, the mystery of it made it so much more appealing than the rest of the cards and although there was nothing more I could do with the card I slipped it into the pile of jobs to accept.

"Well no matter what jobs you accept, you can't go dressed in anything you have here" my mother said after another half hour of whittling down the pile of potential gigs.

"I have a couple of dress that were sent back with me" I replied, trying not to allow my mind float back to the world the dresses had come from.

"You can't just wear the same things all the time America, you're practically a celebrity now, you're draw card is you image. We will go into the high street tomorrow and get a good set of outfits" my mother replied, I had the sense this had a lot to do with a potential men I would meet at these events and her making sure that I looked like I could be a two.

"I can't afford anything else yet, once I've taken some jobs I -"

"Nonsense" my mother cut in "we have all this money saved up from while you were away, I can't think of any better way to use it" I was about to protest, to tell her that that money needed to be saved for when my celebrity status didn't mean anything but she cut me off again "it's a good investment America, with the money you will bring in this family won't want for anything for a long time"  
I nodded, she was partially right of course, it was my mission to support my family, and if I had my way they wouldn't want for anything ever again.

* * *

The next day when we arrived at the tailor I high street I could have sworn my mother was a born two the way she commanded the attention of the shop girls. May and I stood watching in shock as our mother skimmed through pattern books and racks of fabric. The grand total of my input was when I had to stand on a pedestal while I was measured, pinned, draped in fabric and otherwise used like a doll. It was one of the strangest experiences of my life, and it was exhausting! But as I watched my mother command the room, I thought of how much easier this was with my maids, how they just knew what colours and styles would suit me without any of the hustle and bustle of the store.

All of a sudden I realised how much I missed my maids, I had spent so much time morning the loss of Maxon that I had forgotten to miss the people who I had been closest to . I wondered how they were managing without me there. What they were doing now that I wasn't there to look after? Had there been another raid since I left? What if they had been injured? Or worse killed? I would never see them again, yet I felt like they knew me better than most people I knew. I began to feel a familiar panic set in, one similar to my first night in the castle, I needed air and space.

I excused myself from the chaos of a chill and satin and escaped into the street, but out here was worse, there were people everywhere filling every piece of spare space..

I searched desperately for an escape, finally setting my eyes on an alley way only a few shops down. I collapsed into the emptiness of it, leaning heavily against the cool brick wall of an electronic store. I closed my eyes and thought of open places; of manicured gardens bordered by forests, for the first time since I had left I thought of the palace and felt better.

"Here" said a voice from behind me. I looked to see a women holding out a tissue. I took it great fully and dabbed my eyes, I hadn't even realised that I had been crying.

The women smiled, she had a warm smile, the type that you could instantly trust. The Women didn't look like the type of person you would normally see on the high street; more like a rock star than a normal person. Her hair sat just above her shoulders in large flowing curls but what stood out is that it was light icy blue colour, the same colour as her eyes. The dress she wore was the same colour as her hair, a large bring pink belt that sat around her waist and the whole lot was cover by a tan over coat.

"Thank you, for the tissue that is" I replied unsure of what to make of the women

"Not a problem, it's quite un-canny that I should meet you here America Singer, I was just on my way to see you"

"I'm sorry do I know you?"

"My Name is Kate Tainui; I'm the director of the house of the splendid dark. I wonder if you have seen my little post card?"

"Yes I saw it" I replied thinking how the mystery of the card seemed to match the mystery of the women who had sent it "it was very different"

She smiled widely with something like mischief showing in her eyes in her eyes "Excellent, how about we find somewhere quite to have a drink; I have a lot to discuss with you miss sing"

* * *

**Thanks for reading guys, just so you know further down the track I will be doing some chapters from Kate's POV, mostly based in the past so you can see her back story (which I really love and has a love story to rival (and compliment) Maxon and America's.**

**To see what Kate kind of looks like go to here:**

**doedeereblogazine articles/blue-hair-i-finally-did-it/**

**Thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: hey guys!, I swear I meant to get this chapter out sooner but I failed lol. the next chapter will be from Kate's point of view but I will put out the next normal chapter at the same time. I'm heading back home to new Zealand tomorrow for the weekend so I will have 4 flights to do some writing. I hope this makes sense...any way enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

"Here drink this" Kate said handing me glass of water as she return from the bar. I took the glass and drunk deeply. I instantly wish I hadn't when the burn of pure liquor hit my taste buds and throat, it wasn't water...

Kate laughed "sorry, I should have warned you but I couldn't help myself. Wash it down with this one" this time she handed me a glass identical to the one she held. The glass was tall and filled with orange liquid that blended into red at the bottom.

"What is it?" I asked not trusting her

"Tequila sunrise, don't worry it's not strong. I never do business without alcohol" she taking a deep drink through the straw

"You realise I'm only 16 right?"

"Lovely, after what you have been through I don't think anyone will care"

I took a slip of the drink; after the burning of the liquor the flavour of the cocktail was heaven

"You must have a lot of questions, so I guess I'll just start from the very beginning" she said after taking another drink from her own glass "the house of Splendid dark, or just the house as the members have come to call it, is a underground society of artist who get together to play create, play and preform. Membership with the house does not recognise cast nor does it exclude the society-less, we are one group and we treat each member with equal respect and give them the credit they are due."

In reality I had given up Maxon for the dream of a world without casts so to hear that there was a place where it could be true, sent my brain into a head spin. My heart was screaming for me to go with her now to see this world if it really existed but my brain told me that it was to good to be true.

"The house operates in secret, we never advertise our performances or exhibitions and we encourage our patrons to refrain from speaking about our performances. The first rule of the house of splendid dark is that you don't speak about the house of splendid dark. Of course, as you can imagine, because they aren't supposed to talk about it means we are all most of anyone can talk about in Angeles but that's how it works so well. Who needs advertising when u have mystique! Of course it doesn't hurt that we are good, really good"

"Why the secrecy?"

"Mostly for indemnity, a lot of members have lives and families outside of the house who wouldn't understand and I don't imagine the king would be very thrilled that we are flaunting the cast system if he found out. Then there's the mystique thing, but I have to say it all started out this way so I could protect myself"

"What on earth could u need to hide from?"

Kate's face hardened "I'm an honest person America, so when I tell you if I told you I would have to kill you, you should understand I'm telling the truth" She seemed to think about something for a second before continuing "I will tell you that I am a refugee in this country, I was born a very long way away and my staying hidden is a matter of life and death"

I continued to watch her, without saying a word, something in her face told me that she was deadly serious. Within seconds her face had changed again back to the bright smiling face I had first seen"But enough about that it's so depressing. What I would like, is for you to accompany me back to Angeles to see what we are about and too few our latest performance, I learnt a good time ago that the best way to explain the house is to show people, and I promise if it's not for you I will deliver you back here safe and sound. So what do you think?"

"I'm not sure…."

"You're not sure you want to see the house in all its glory or you're not sure you want to go back to Angeles?" Kate replied slyly, and I realised she had me figured out "look, America I can guarantee you won't have to see anyone you don't want to while you're with me. I will tell you that the queen is one of our greatest patrons there is a chance you will run into her, but I can tell you, you have nothing to fear from her."

Somehow it didn't surprise me that the queen was involved with the house, it seemed like I learnt something new about her every day and every day I came to admire her more.

"Why me?"

"Because you have the skills! The queen invited me to your shindig for the Spanish so that I could see you in action and I have to say I was impressed. And then there was you're speech on the report, America you should have seen the reaction in the house, you're their idol! And then even more than that I understand where your head is at the moment, while I was traveling to Illéa I fell in love with the solider that had been sent to escort me. I thought he was amazing but it turned out that he was a bit of a pig and I was heartbroken and the worst thing was I couldn't escape him, so I ran away. The house became my salvation where I could hide and allow my heart to mend. It can be that for you to America"

Now I understood why this blue haired woman could understand me so well, she understood how I felt and her offer sounded so good, every fibre of my being yearn to hide the way she described. At that moment my mother appeared in the windows that faced the street she waved and held up a number of paper shopping bags, she looked very pleased with herself.

"if you're interested be outside your house at 8am tomorrow morning" Kate said as she stood up, taking my mother's appearance as a sign that it was time to go "oh and bring your sister, I've seen her work, its good, far better than your brothers" with that she turned and left exciting the door as my mother and sister walked in

"Who was that?" my mother asked as she asked reached the table

"A friend from Angeles" I replied instantly deciding that it would be best not to tell her the full story "she here on business, but she has invited May and me to stay with her in Angeles for a few days"

"Can we go mum?!" May asked with more enthusiasm than I had ever seen In her

"I guess if America thinks you will be safe?"

"We'll be fine with Kate" I replied before sculling the rest of my drink to disguise my uncertainty, it wasn't a lie, I just wasn't sure myself "come one lets go home".


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything, I've been working out in the sun for the last week during a heat wave so by the time I got home I was pretty much collapsing. I haven't quite finished the next America chapter but here's the first Kate chapter to tide you over till I get the America chapter done (which should be tomorrow)**

**Chapter 4**

_**Kate - Age 17 - Hauraki, Kingdom of Oceania **_

Kate Tainui sat at the back of the classroom trying very hard to concentrate.

When it came to school she wasn't a natural A grade student but there were certain expectations on her that meant she had to try, and in reality most times fail, to be extraordinary; because queens should be extraordinary. Kate, the illegitimate daughter of whit Tainui the king of Oceania, was in a quite an unusual situation. The illegitimate part deemed that she was not a princess but it was the daughter of the king part that made her an heir to the thrown and at this moment she was THEE heir.

The teacher of Kate's foreign affairs class was prattling on again about Illéa and Kate was trying in vain to keep her mind on topic. Oceania was one of many country's that had a long standing embargo against Illéa about ethics, Oceania stood for equality and cultural recognition, which was almost the complete opposite of the large nation of Illéa  
Kate looked up the map that hung on the wall, The boundaries of Oceania carved though the oceans in light blue lines, it's eastern edge meeting Illéa west. Stretching from Antarctica in the south to Hawaiki in the north, Modern Oceania encompassed nearly every island in the Pacific Ocean.

History was important to the Oceanic people, and it was Oceania's history that floated into Kate's mind not Illéa's. The oceanic alliance had been forged out of necessity during the 3rd world war and at the time had only included those islands in the southern Pacific. In those days it was Australia that had lead the way being the bigger and more financially stable party, but that had all changed when china moved its eye to the resource rich nation. It was during the time that Australia was under occupation that the kingdom of Oceania began to form. To forge unity the lines old lines of the English royal family, to which most Pacific nations held allegiance, had we're crossed with symbolic lines of the Maori and Tongan royal family's. It was during those days that it had been deemed, when the nation of Oceania had been born, that the laws of succession were set in stone. The eldest legitimate son of the ruling monarch would be first in line; if no legitimate son was sired then his eldest illegitimate son would be his heir. Where no son is fathered by the king then his first born daughter would rule, legitimate or not, and it was this law that made Kate the heir and not any of the 8 heirs born by the queen.

"Can anyone give me an example of another nation that the father nations held diplomatic embargoes against?" The teacher asked, pulling Kate back into reality  
"Germany!" One student yell from near the front  
"Good, can u tell me why?" The teacher replied  
"Because of the world wars, the holocaust and communism"  
"Good and why do we have an embargo against ilea?  
This time it was Kate who spoke up "Because of the cast system, the founders of Illéa created a system that keeps the poor in poverty and give them no realistic chance to better themselves while the rich get richer, thus creating huge disparity between the rich and poor"

the class was saved any more questions when the bell that marked the end of class.  
During the bustle of students packing up to move to their next class a man In a navy suit and dark sun glasses walked into the room, Kate instantly recognized him as one of the guards employed to protect the royal family, he stopped briefly to speak the teacher before she turned toward Kate  
"Kate, u have been requested at the palace, you're excused from you're classes for the rest of the day, please go with this gentleman and he will deliver u there"

Kate rolled her eyes, her father expected her to get good grades but how on earth did he expect her to do so when he kept pulling her out of class all the time.

"They got u on babysitting duty again aye bob?" She said to the suited man as she reaches him, he didn't reply, he never did. It was part of their way, only speaking when it was necessary but it didn't stop Kate from talking at them. To keep herself sane Kate often made up their part of the conversation in her head, she had seen one smile once during one of her more obscure one sided conversations which just egged her one even more. And because none of them would tell her their name she had been forced to name them herself. This one, bob, had been to fetch her many times.

The ride to the place was quite, Bob sat in the front seat of the black commodore alongside the drive, and as usual Kate sat in the back, alone.  
It took only 15 minutes to drive from her boarding school to the palace which sat on a hill overlooking to harbor and city centre of Oceania's capital. Kate studied the palace carefully as they made their way up the old volcanic cone on which it sat. From this angle it looked much like it had in the photos Kate had seen from back when it had been a museum and national war memorial, the old cenotaph still standing as a reminder for all those who had died for king and country.

The car pulled up at the bottom of the steps and Kate waiting for Bob to open her door, as was appropriate for a lady, she thanked him and started the climb up the 100 steps to the front entrance.

The kings PA, Chloe, was waiting for her the foyer  
"What this about this time?" She asked as she reached the women  
"To be honest I wouldn't have a clue, he's been alone in his office all day and all of a sudden he's all 'get Lady Katie her as soon as u can'" she replied while simultaneous hurrying her into the elevator.  
"Well we will find out soon won't we"  
Kate liked the kings PA, she had started when Kate was 8 so had been around most of her life. Chloe was one of the only employees of the royal family that would talk to her like a normal person, so Kate often got her information of the women, for her not to know what was happening was unusual...

The king's office was on the 2nd floor, the route to which took you through so many hall ways that a new person would easily get lost. Chloe knock softly when they reached the large wooded door, A voice from within invited them in and they stepped through into the bright office of the king of Oceania.

Kate's father had clearly been waiting for them as he was very near the door and embraced Kate as soon as she reach him  
"Here's my Katydid" he said his embrace just a little too strong to be normal,  
"Hey dad, how have u been in the last two day since I saw u?" Kate replied, sarcasm evident  
"How school?"  
Kate moved over towards the lounge that sat in the middle of the office before replying "Good, same as usual, we got out mid-year report cards yesterday"  
"How you go"  
"Good, I past everything at least"  
"Maths?"  
"B-"  
"Science?"  
"C…. it's still a pass"  
"History?"  
"A"  
"Music"  
"A+"  
Her father's face dropped instantly, and Kate grimaced, she hadn't meant to tell him that, her father felt guilty when it came to Kate's artist ability, she was naturally talented and would be a true star if she didn't have her life set out by birth. She had been trying to hide her music and dance results from him to spare him but he always found out and it always made him sad.  
"So, what's this impromptu visit about?" She asked quickly to change the subject, but apparently it was the wrong subject to broach and his face only grew grimmer. This set Kate on edge, all the evidence was pointing towards something bad and Fathers mood seemed to confirm it, something was very wrong.  
"Chloe would u leave us for a bit" the king said looking only at the floor. The PA curtsied and left quickly without a word. There was silence for a moment before the king continued  
"Kate, earlier this morning I received some intelligence... I thought about sparring I from it, but you're grown up enough to understand and do the right thing. The intelligence I revived this morning this that someone within the kingdom is plotting an attempt to kill you"

The king was visibly upset by the news that anyone would try and kill his eldest daughter, but Kate found herself unable to process the information. She was in shock in a way which is probably why she laughed… loudly.  
"Me, someone wants to kill me!"  
her father almost looked angry with her "It's not as crazy as u think Kate, you're next in line for the thrown, while the chances were high that the queen would produce a male heir, no one really paid u much attention but the chances are getting slimmer and slimmer and now you're standing in the way of others getting the power they want, you need to take this seriously!"  
Kate tried to look serious "Like whom?"  
"You're sisters for one"  
"U think one of the queen's minion daughters is trying to kill me? You're nuts! Most of them aren't smart enough to dress themselves let alone plot an assignation attempt"  
Kate didn't have a very high opinion of most of her sisters, they had grown up in the palace under the watchful eye of the queen and as such had turned into arrogant, prissy, conniving, evil, bitches, with The collective intelligence of a goldfish. There was one or two that Kate left out of this equation, like the twins, who took after their father like her, and had intelligence enough to dislike their sisters as much as Kate did.

the king grimaced, he didn't like the rift between Kate and his other daughters, and would normally pulled her up on such words but this time he had to agree in part. While he couldn't rule anyone them out, he did not believe any of capable of coming up with such a plot. "Maybe not the girls themselves but the queens family is fully capable of such things, at this stage we really have no idea who is behind I can only work of hunches"

"So what's the plan?"

"To go on as usual"

Kate Gawked, "There's someone trying to kill me and were going to go on as usual! I don't understand?"

"As I said at the moment we don't know who's behind it or who's in on it so we have to wait till they do something or make a mistake"

"So what you're saying is you're going to use me as bait!"

"Essentially, yes"

"I don't believe this!" the initial shock of the situation had worn off leaving Kate feeling numb

"I don't like it very much either but short of locking u away somewhere I don't see how we have a choice. You won't be alone, I'm going to have some of my men in under cover around u, where they can protect u if need be. Kate please believe me when I say if I thought there was another way I would take it,"

Kate took a deep breath, the teenager in her wanted to yell and scream some more but leader in her told her to look at the situation logically. While she couldn't get her mind around it quite yet she could see that the king was just as upset, and arguing more wouldn't help either of them; so she took a deep breath and nodded. What ever happened next, it wasn't in her hands, just like the rest of her life and she has been groomed to accept it.

**PS GO EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND!**


End file.
